Even though Michigan is surrounded by more than 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, fish farming is largely unheard of there.

But this summer, the aquaculture industry took a step forward. And that has touched off a debate over the appropriateness of fish farming on the Great Lakes.

There’s only one company now in Michigan that raises fish for restaurants and grocery stores in large volumes. It’s a family business, run by Dan Vogler, on a few acres near Harrietta, Mich., population 143.